Scripture Snapshots:
TEMPTATION
Series 2 Lesson 3
One day, a young man in Alaska decided to go moose hunting. He set out into the woods and began to look for signs of moose. What would he look for? He’s looking for tracks, tree rubs, spots of flattened grass, and moose “droppings.” He found a place where many of these signs were fresh and set up camp there. He got his gun ready and took out his moose call, which imitated the sound of a female moose. He wanted to attract a male or “bull” moose to shoot. Finally, a bull moose heard his call and called back. The bull moose thought that a girl moose was nearby, so he made his way toward the hunter. When he came into view, the hunter raised his gun and – BANG! The bull moose lost his life because he believed a lie. The hunter wasn’t a girl moose; he only pretended to be one, and it worked.
Satan is like that hunter. Our verse says that he is like a lion sneaking around looking for people that he can trick. He is very clever, and many fall for his lies. Let’s learn the truth about Satan, the father of lies, so that you are not tricked by him. Satan does NOT have horns, a tail, and a pitchfork. He doesn’t run around in red long johns scaring people with his fangs. He has been around for a long time and is very clever. He knows how to trick you. Satan is actually an angel created by God. His original name was Lucifer. The Bible says that his garments were covered with jewels and that he led the angels in the worship of God in heaven.
One day, Lucifer let pride take control of his heart. In Isaiah 14, we have five “I wills” that Lucifer said: “I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit upon the mount of the congregation. I will ascend above the height of the clouds. I will be like the Most High." Satan wanted to kick God off His throne and take His place. While Satan is more powerful than you are, he is nothing compared to God. Imagine that when you get home today, an ant is standing by your door. He looks up at you and says, “I’m taking over this house. You’ll have to move out.” What would you do? You’d step on that ant, and that would be the end of him. That illustration reminds me of God and Satan. Satan tried to take over Heaven, but God kicked Satan out of Heaven along with 1/3 of the angels who chose to follow him. Satan wants to destroy your life and keep you from following God.
Satan didn’t waste any time once God had created man. He thought that if he could get man to rebel against God, then man would follow him instead. He tempted Eve in the garden to eat fruit from the forbidden tree. He told her that by eating it, she could be just like God. She believed his lie and ate the fruit and gave some to her husband. Since then, everyone born has been born into Satan’s family.
Satan knew Who Jesus was and wanted to get Jesus to sin so that no one could be saved. When Jesus was about 30 years old, He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and then went into the desert where He fasted (didn’t eat) and prayed for 40 days. Jesus was physically weak and hungry. Satan was watching and tried to get Jesus to sin. Satan came to Jesus and said, “If you really are the Son of God, turn those stones into bread.” Jesus could easily have done that, but He would have been listening and obeying Satan and not trusting in His heavenly Father. Jesus answered with a verse from the Bible, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Deuteronomy 8:3) Jesus wasn’t going to listen to Satan. He would trust in His heavenly Father instead.
Satan didn’t win that time, but he didn’t quit. He took Jesus up on top of the temple and said, “Isn’t it written that if you jump from here, the angels will catch you before you hit the ground? Go ahead, jump, and then everyone will think you are great.” Jesus again replied from the scriptures. “It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” (Deuteronomy 6:16).
Satan tried one more time. He took Jesus up onto a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. He said, “See all this. It can be yours. I’ll give you the world if you’ll just bow down and worship me.” Satan does have rule in this world, but only because God has allowed it for a time. He was saying, “Jesus, you can rule now. Don’t worry about the future.” Jesus again used God’s Word to fight Satan (Psalm 119:11). He said, “Get behind me Satan: it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Having failed to trick Jesus, Satan left Him for a while. You can be sure that Satan didn’t give up, just like he won’t quit trying to get you to sin.
Satan uses many things to try to get us to follow him and not God. He uses things like the Ouija Board, Tarot cards, or horoscopes that people believe tell the future. These things are controlled by Satan and his demons. When you fool around with fortune telling, séances, or witchcraft or black magic, you are opening the door for Satan to come in and control your life. Here are some messages that Satan has for you and wants you to believe:
DO WHAT YOU WANT. God has placed people in authority over you to provide for you and to protect you. Satan says, “Don’t listen to them. It’s your body and your life. Do what YOU want.” This may sound good, but the end result is much heartache and pain. Satan wants you to disobey your parents and teachers, but mostly God.
IF IT FEELS GOOD, DO IT. Sin IS fun for a short time; if it wasn’t, no one would sin. Suppose you ate only candy and lots of it. That would feel good for a while, but you would eventually get sick. After the fun of sin comes the pain.
LIVE FOR TODAY; DON’T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW. Satan doesn’t want you to think about the consequences of your choices. He especially doesn’t want you to think about eternity – the time after you die. He will tell you that everyone goes to heaven, so don’t worry about it.
JUST TRY IT ONCE. Satan wants you to just try drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. Many people get addicted the first time they try these bad things, and their lives are ruined. There is danger in experimenting with Satan’s lies. How does Satan get his message across? There are many ways. He uses popular music. Many songs on the radio tell you to do things that God calls sin. Many young people spend hours listening to their favorite artists who are proclaiming Satan’s messages.
He also uses TV, movies, and the internet. Most programs and movies sneak in Satan’s lies, and after a while, we accept them as truth. You are picky about what you eat. You need to be picky about what you watch and listen to. You wouldn’t eat food out of a garbage can, would you? Why are you letting garbage into your brain? You may be surprised to learn that one of Satan’s biggest lies is religion. Religion is trying to earn your way to heaven by good works. Satan has millions of people trying to earn their way to Heaven. He has millions following false gods. They pray and worship, but not to the true God.
Be on guard, or else you might be fooled by Satan and fall for one of his lies. One day, God will bind Satan and lock him in the lowest place in Hell. Satan is NOT the ruler there, but a prisoner. He is the loser. You need to read God’s Word and memorize it. Then you will know the truth. You need to ask God to help you in recognizing Satan’s lies and using God’s truth to fight against Satan. You don’t want to remain in Satan’s family. If you’ve never trusted Christ to save you, will you do that today? You’ll be born into God’s family and will live with Him forever. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”